Chapter Two #2
How many times have I been so stressed out, I fantasized about disappearing? Dropping everything and taking off? The thought brings a wave of guilt so powerful, it nearly knocks me sideways. I am not my mother.
“Yes,” I admit softly. “Sort of.”
Becca’s brows knit. “Are you nervous about traveling alone?”
I shrug, knowing she doesn’t need an answer.
“It’s only scary because you never go anywhere, but you’re Taylor Mitchell.
You keep billionaires organized, and you’re great with people.
There’s nothing you can’t do. Who cares if you don’t know anyone?
You’ll have sun on your face and sand between your toes, and you can meet people.
Walk through town, explore the area. You know you’d love it.
You can go Jet Skiing or snorkeling or paddleboarding.
You just have to get out of your own way.
It’ll be an adventure, and if anyone deserves a vacation like this, it’s you. ”
Her enthusiasm is contagious. “You’re right. I do deserve an adventure, and checking out an island town would be fun.” I could do any of the other sporty things she mentioned, but those types of adventures are better left for Dad and Becca. Someone has to stay in one piece.
“Checking out island guys could be even cooler.” Becca claps her hands together. “What are we missing?”
“Underwear would be nice.”
“Sexy lingerie, coming up.” She spins around and starts digging through my underwear drawer.
“I don’t need sexy lingerie.”
She tosses me an eye roll. “Don’t give me that. You know you love sexy lingerie.”
“I didn’t say I don’t like it. I said I won’t need it. I’m going to be alone on an island where I don’t know anyone.”
“Hopefully you won’t be alone for long,” she says cheerily. “I’m manifesting a hot island guy for you.” She grabs several pairs of sexy lingerie and dangles them from her fingers. “You’re going to wear these every night, because you’re rocking that bikini during the day. You hear me?”
“Sure,” I say, because it’s easier than arguing.
“Lord knows you need a little romance in your life.” She puts the lingerie in my suitcase. “Now, where’s that green backless dress I bought you for your birthday?”
My phone chimes. As I pull it from my pocket, it chimes two more times.
“Boss man is busy tonight,” Becca teases. “Didn’t he tell you no work, no phones, no computers? It’s after five o’clock. You’re officially on vacation.”
“As if he knows what that means,” I scoff. “I bet he sleeps with his phone under his pillow.”
“Oh my God,” Becca says as she carefully rolls the green dress. “You two must’ve gone to the same school for neurotic businesspeople.”
“As if you don’t jump every time Aubrey beckons you?” Becca is the assistant to Aubrey Stewart, a co-founder of LWW Enterprises, a multimedia conglomerate in Port Hudson.
I scan the emails from Seth, the first two thanking me for work I’ve done and the third asking me to resend documents for his meetings in Florida tomorrow.
I zip them off, then get up to pick out tops and shorts.
As much as I don’t want to leave my father, I know Becca will truly make my life hell if I don’t go on this trip.
“If I were you,” Becca says as she snags a pair of heels from my closet, “I’d send that gorgeous boss of yours a message saying you’re excited about the trip, but since he’s making you break his no-work-on-vacation rule by texting after normal work hours tonight, he should make it up to you by meeting you there.
” She tucks the heels into my suitcase. “Naked. With silk ties.”
“You really need to give that up, Bec. I’d never sleep with the man who pays my bills.
” I’ve seen enough pictures of Seth over the last several years to know he’s a godly creature with the fashion sense of a five-year-old, which I find oddly endearing.
“Plus, he’s a billionaire and way out of my league. ”
“Please. Guys get whiplash every time you walk by. They always have, and under that oh-so-capable facade is a tigress waiting to be unleashed. If I were you, I’d use this weekend to play out a fantasy. Go wild with some guy you’ll never see again.”
I snort-laugh. “Don’t pretend you’d do that. You might like to go out and have fun at bars and events, but you still turn down nearly every guy who asks you out.”
“At least I go out on dates. Your dates are all four-legged and furry.”
I have been volunteering at a local animal shelter for years, and these days I take dogs out on the weekends, and sometimes they spend the night with me.
“Getting down and dirty with a hot guy will do you good,” Becca taunts.
“Maybe, but I haven’t had sex in so long, I think I forgot how.”
“Yeah, but I know how wild you were when you were with Cody, and that shit’s like riding a horse. Your body will remember.”
My chest aches with the mention of the boy I loved so hard from sixteen to twenty, I scared him off, and he left me at the altar. Pushing that painful memory aside, I say, “Let’s hope the next time I have sex, the guy is better at it than he was.”
I eye my sister as she packs more sexy outfits, while I pack the things I know I’ll actually wear. We pack enough clothes for a week, but it’s easier than fighting. “Thanks for talking me into it, and for watching Dad while I’m gone. Will you check on him on your way home?”
“Mm-hm. I’m heading that way anyway. I’ve got to go, or I’ll be late.”
“Okay. Thanks for helping me pack.”
“No prob.”
I walk her out, and she hugs me at the door. Then she holds me by the shoulders and says, “Remember, manifest, and don’t jinx it by thinking negatively. I expect to hear lots of juicy details.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” As she walks out to her car, I call after her. “What are you doing tonight that you’re heading toward Dad’s?”
“Dad and I are going to a mosh pit. Bye!” She climbs into her car and closes the door.
I grab the door to steady my wobbly legs. “Oh my freaking God. You’re both trying to kill me.”